Tear Me Down
by breezered
Summary: 'He's tearing down Manhattan, and you along with it.' Thaluke, angst warning. Thaluke because (let's be serious) they're beautiful. Collection of oneshots focusing on their shining tragedy.
1. Tear Me Down, Love

He's one of those boys who you know will tear you down.

You've heard your mother rant on and on about men, but he seems so genuine and smart and brave and sososo real. So you follow him.

You bond and you become friends, allies. You know each other like the back of your hands, and you can read each other's minds in a fight. You never miss a single beat, each move complimenting the other's perfectly.

One day you find a little blonde girl with a hammer. He gives her a knife (that should have been the first sign. Who the hell gives little kids knives in the first place?). The little girl is fast, and strong, and smart. She's got these eyes that storm in their own little world. Immediately she takes a liking to him (who wouldn't? You sure did).

As the weeks pass, you feel a roaring green monster grow in your chest. Which is stupid, because she's seven and he's fourteen and that's just creepy, so you know there really isn't anything that that monster should be roaring at but it roars anyways.

One night he takes you aside when the girl is sleeping and you stand there in the snow while he tries to tell you something, and maybe you're getting it wrong, but you think he's trying to tell you he likes you, and you're only twelve but you feel a lot older as you stand on your tippy-toes and bring your lips to his (it's not like he was going to do it). It's everything you thought it would be and more.

But then he doesn't talk to you for four days. And you start to wonder if maybe you did something wrong. So you withdraw a little from the other two, watching as the blonde girl gets closer to him and you get farther. And even though she's seven and he's fourteen and its a little creepy, that green monster inside you is roaring and crying and trying to claw it's way out of you.

And on the fifth day, you meet the goatboy. He's awkward, sweet, and kind of eccentric. He eats cutlery and likes soda cans. You seek him out one night and spill everything that has been chewing you up. He listens, but can't offer any advice. So as you travel, you stick with goatboy and watch from afar as the blonde girl gets closer to him. Everything is quiet for a little while - and then comes the cyclops.

It's one of the most terrifying experiences of your life.

And by the end of it, all of you are hanging by your ankles by a large fire. All except that little blonde girl who you love and hate at the same time. But she shows up out of the darkness like a small avenging angel and kills the cyclops and cuts you all down. And you hate to admit it but when he runs to you first and holds you to his chest, the green monster is appeased and settles down peacefully. And you're only twelve, but as he holds you and whispers in your ear that he was sorry, and he never wanted to have to let you go, you feel a lot older.

Then you're on a hill and you know this is it. There are sososo many monsters, and the one inside you has disappeared, and you know what has to be done. You yell at them to run and not look back, you ignore how the little blonde girl you know you never really hated cries incessantly (she's smart and knows what this means), you ignore how goatboy has silent tears streaming down his face, but you can't ignore how he is looking at you with sadsadsad eyes because he knows this is it for you and for youandhim (if there ever was a youandhim). You lock eyes with him and smile sadly and then you turn around and face the monsters.

You fall asleep.

When you wake up, the little blonde girl is standing over you, except she isn't little. Then goatboy shows up and you turn your head from side to side but he isn't there. Instead there's a new boy beside the blonde girl, and he's the opposite of him. This new boy is good and shiny, and he has powers beyond imagining , powers like yours. They tell you you were a tree (you're shocked at first, but it wears off pretty quickly). They tell you it's been six years. But it looks like you've only aged four, and it's weird for you because you used to be shorter and you didn't use to have any sort of womanly qualities but now you have a chest and a bum and you look so much more grown up. You're taller and you feel older, you feel like a grownup. And then the blonde girl tells you about what he's done.

You feel like someone has taken a hundred knives

and plunged them into your heart,

twisted them around,

then poured salt all over the wounds.

And you're almost sixteen but you feel a lot younger when you curl up in your bed and crycrycry because he isn't really him anymore and you're older and you have a chest and everything is just happening too fast.

You lose the blonde girl. She falls off a cliff. You meet some hunters (again). You go on a quest to find the blonde girl (and the goddess but right now you're clinging onto the blonde girl because goatboy is in love with that old fashioned huntress and he's left you and that blonde girl is the only thing that can hold you together). Then the new boy who isn't new now, he's that annoying boy, he shows up and you can see that the only reason he is here is for the blonde girl. And you can see how much he cares, so he stops being annoying and becomes the good boy. Because he's good inside and out, you can see it, and if he's here for the blonde girl then he can't be all bad. When you find her, you want to cry for joy.

When he shows up, you want to cry. Because he used to be perfect in your eyes, in her eyes, in goatboy's eyes. And now he's ruined. He's evil now. You attack him. He's looking at you with those same sad eyes. He begs you to join him. He wants you, he needs you, he hasn't been alive without you, and if only if only if only you could believe him. You want nothing more than to believe him but he isn't telling the truth.

So you push him off a cliff.

And you join the hunt.

And you feel broken inside.

And the world stops spinning.

And he shows up one day. And he begs you again. He gets on his knees and literally begs at your feet and it's then that you truly know that he isn't who he was, not anymore. He would never beg. You turn him away and your heart turns to cold stone. Or maybe it just crumbles, but you carry on.

Eventually it's the big battle. You see him from a distance and you feel your very soul break and you're only fifteen but you feel a lot older. Because he's got golden eyes and a scythe that doesn't belong to him and his voice is wrong wrong wrong.

He's tearing down Manhattan, and you along with it.

And when you see his body, broken and mangled, and you see the blonde girl holding the good boy's hand, and goatboy munching morosely on a fork, you know he's torn you down.

You always knew he would.

* * *

**Just a little something to pass the time while I recover some documents.**

**Hope you enjoyed this little piece of my soul!**

**Reviews are that flavour you can't live without!**

**I own nada.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-breezered**


	2. Whispers in the Wind

"She's a tree." He repeats, standing at the top of half-blood hill. He's shaded underneath the branches of the tall line tree that showed up this morning. "She's a tree."

"I'm afraid so, my boy," The centaur beside you says, "But she now provides this camp with eternal protection." The centaur clasps a hand on his shoulder. "She gave her life for you and Annabeth, and Grover. It is only fitting - "

He whirls around and yells at the centaur. "Only fitting?! She's a tree! I don't see how turning anyone into a tree is fitting!" He feels the rage build up inside him, and he turns back to the tree and starts clawing at the bark, trying to rip through it. "If she's in here, then she'll be in here, we just gotta dig far enough, and she'll be there, she's always there, she's always there!" He ignores how his hands are bloody and there is sap and bark caught up in his fingernails.

"Luke," The centaur says calmly, "Thalia is no longer human. Zeus preserved her in the form of this pine tree. Do not fool yourself into thinking otherwise."

"Bullshit!"Luke cries out, trying to blink back the swelling tears in his eyes, "She's in here, or she's not anywhere!" He feels strong hands firmly pull him back from the tree and he flails his limbs as he is lifted off the ground. "Let me go! Damn it, put me down, I can't leave her alone, put me down!" The centaur carries Luke into the large white farmhouse and puts him in a small white room. He closes the door as he leaves.

Luke bangs his fists against the door, trying to break it down, he kicks it and tries picking the lock. The door doesn't budge. In his frustration, he punches the wall with all his strength. He hears a crack and let's out a cry of pain. He can feel that his hand is broken, and tries one last time to break down the door by slamming his body into it.

He bounces off the door and dejectedly goes and sits against the far wall. He cradles his broken hand gently and lets the tears stream down his face.

"Damn it, Thals," He whispers, "You're always making me look stupid, you know?"

He imagines her response, "That's because you are stupid, you blockhead.", and he can picture how her electric blue eyes would sparkle with mischief and she would give him a self-satisfied smirk. With a resigned sigh, he closes his eyes and falls asleep.

In his dream, it's him and Thalia, sitting by the edge of a lake on a warm summer's night. He remembers this night. How could he forget?

"Rough day today," Thalia says, rolling her shoulders, "The kid is completely exhausted." She jerks her head in the direction of where the hideout is. Luke looks back over his shoulder and nods.

"She's not the only one," He says, "I feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks."

"You did get tackled by that hellhound," Thalia remarks.

"That would explain it, then," He says with a laugh. Thalia laughs with him and them lies down on her back with a contented sigh. He follows suit and looks up at the stars.

"You know, Luke," She says wistfully, "This is the life. No rules, no parents, nobody telling us what to do, what to eat..." She trails off.

"It's pretty great," He agrees, "That is, if we find food, and if we don't mind getting chased by monsters everyday for the rest of our lives." She reaches over and pushes his shoulder playfully.

"You know what I mean, smart-ass."

Luke laughs and turns his head to look at her. She's staring up at the sky, and he drinks in how the moonlight makes her skin look like it's glowing silver, and how it highlights her freckles that are splashed sporadically across her nose. She looks over at him.

"You're beautiful," He whispers. Thalia blushes and lowers her gaze. Luke feels his stomach drop, and he quickly stands up, and mumbles out and excuse about having to go check on Annabeth, but he doesn't really hear himself because the blood is rushing in his ears and he feels like he just wants to fall into the Underworld and never return, because she doesn't think of him like that, of course she doesn't, why did he even say that, it was a stupid thing to say, and he's mentally berating himself for even thinking it.

As he's nearing the hideout, he feels a hand grab his. He freezes, and turns around. She's standing there with an annoyed look on her face.

"For the love of the gods, Castellan, you can't just run away after you tell a girl she's beautiful!" She reprimands him. "Give them a second to breathe, would you?" She gives him an easy-going smile, and all of a sudden words are tumbling out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Thals, I just - that is, you see, - you're gorgeous, and then you didn't say anything, and you're my best friend, so I thought - well, I didn't want to offend you, you see - but I was nervous so I panicked, and you're still stunning, obviously, but - "

He's cut off by Thalia's lips on his. It's sloppy and new, and neither of them really know what they're doing, but somehow it works for them, and Luke isn't sure he'll ever be able to stop kissing her. She's the perfect size, not so short he's bent in half, but still small enough that he has to bend his head down and she's on her tippy-toes. They pull away in need of air.

"Sorry," She says, not sounding sorry at all, "But you need to learn when to shut up and just kiss people."

Luke smiles and the dream dissolves.

He wakes up on a thermo-rest on the floor of what he guesses is cabin 11. Sunlight is trickling through the shutters on the windows, and he sits up, blinking his eyes blearily. He notices that his hand isn't aching anymore and simply has a bandage wrapped around his knuckles. Luke rolls his neck around to get out the kinks, and wipes the sleep from his eyes. Remembering his dream, he stands up and races out the door, out of the ring of cabins, and up to Thalia's tree. He stops in front of it and gently lays a hand on its trunk.

"You're so frustrating, Thals," He mumbles, "What the heck were you thinking, getting yourself ki-" He chokes on the last word, "-turned into a tree."

"Just saving your sorry ass," He imagines her replying, "Yours, the kid's and goat boy's. Stop being so damn mopey and do something to get me out of this damn foliage!"

He chuckles. "But you're dead, Thalia. You're dead, and you aren't coming back." He smiles sadly up at the branches. "You're dead, so they turned you into a tree. You aren't coming back, Thalia."

"Then stop wallowing in whatever the hell you're wallowing in and go help out the kid," He hears her say, "Go do what you gotta do. Save the world, like you said you would. But first, get a change of clothes. You smell like hobo piss."

Luke rolls his eyes. "Whatever, Grace." He walks away from the tree yelling back, "Same time tomorrow?"

"Always,"She whispers in the wind, and he stands up a little straighter.

* * *

**A/N: And here we are. Some more of my soul that gets poured into the tragedy that is Thaluke. **

**I hope you liked it!**

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**Stay wonderful, audience.**

**-breezered**


	3. Lazy Days, Active Thoughts

Luke hates days like today. Lazy days, Annabeth has been calling them. Days where he can't find anything to occupy his mind, nothing to distract him from the constant pain he feels in his soul.

It's been four years since that day - actually, four years, one month, and seventeen days. But it doesn't matter how long it's been, because regardless of the passage of time, it hurts all the same.

There are reminders all over camp. Every time he passes by what would have been her cabin, his stomach wrenches. Every time he sees Annabeth he's reminded of the better days.

And that damned tree. He sees it every day, whether he wants to or not. It's always up on the hill, protecting the camp. Which is total bullshit, because everyone knows it isn't the tree that protects the camp, it's Thalia. Her spirit, her soul.

So on days like today, Luke hates that he didn't die trying to save his best friend. His first crush, first kiss, first family.

He walks around camp, waving at his friends. As the head counsellor for the Hermes cabin, mostly everyone knows who he is. He's walking without a purpose, no direction in mind, but as he always does, he ends up by her tree.

With a resigned sigh, Luke sits down at the base of the tree, leaning his head back against its bark. He closes his eyes and draws in a shaky breath. He refuses to cry again. Enough years have been shed. It's not like she was more important than the lives of the people she saved - but she was. Maybe not in the grand scheme of things, but to him...she was everything.

He used to hear her voice in the wind, could picture her signature cocky grin that so obviously stated how she knew she was something special. A daughter of the King of the Gods.

A princess, Luke thinks ironically, laughing quietly at how much she would have hard being called that.

A daughter of Zeus, the only living child of Zeus, a child he should have been watching out for, caring for, loving with some part of his godly heart. But no, the Gods are too busy to be burdened with the life or death of their offspring. Mortal lives are meaningless in the great, endless river that is immortality. They're nothing but a thread in the tapestry of the world.

Why should the Gods give a damn about anyone but themselves?

Luke knows it's wrong to be angry with the Gods. He knows he is supposed to be grateful that Zeus turned Luke's best friend into a tree to protect a bunch of kids Thalia had never even met. And it's also a dangerous past time, being pissed off at all-powerful immortal beings. They could squash Luke like a bug.

But hell, Luke is angry.

Angry at Zeus for letting Thalia die.

Angry at his father for letting his mother go insane.

Angry with Athena for letting Annabeth have an awful childhood.

And he's damn angry with the rest of them, too, for any shit they might have messed up.

And he's angry for Thalia, too. Because she isn't around to be pissed off, so he's going to do it for her. And that's what she'd want, isn't it? Him to be angry with the Gods because, for lack of a better expression, the Gods have forsaken them. And maybe the Gods don't realize the power that one mortal has, but it's as he runs a hand over the root of Thalia's tree that Luke makes an oath.

"I swear to you, Thalia, that I will bring justice and balance to the demi-gods," He whispers it to the wind, "And I promise that I will do what it takes - whatever it takes - to make the Olympians realize their mistakes. I swear."

And what those Gods up on Olympus don't realize is that this lonely, lost young man, has more power than any of them could fathom.

Driven by friendship. Love. Anger. Hatred.

Eventually, he would forget about the love, and Luke Castellan would drown in his hatred.

**There we go. Ta-da. I was spontaneously inspired after receiving a review, and, well...voila. **

**Reviews are wonderfully appreciated and I'll do my very best to reply : )**

**Thank you for reading! I own nothing.**

**-breezered.**


	4. Warmth

When you're living in a shelter made of sticks and branches, winter really isn't the best season. Thalia was freezing cold, not to mention extremely wet from the leaks in the "roof".

Never let Luke build a shelter. No attention to detail.

The three demigods were huddled in the shelter, Annabeth already curled up in two sleeping bags to keep her warm, fast asleep. The seven-year-old always fell asleep quickly, something Thalia was grateful for - no whining or demanding bedtime stories or any of that crap.

"I can't feel my toes," Thalia grumbled, "And I think my nose is about to fall off my frozen face." She pulled the hood of her worn jacket tighter around her face. The wind was nipping at every part of exposed skin.

"Stop being a whiny baby," Luke replied, "At least you have a hood." His hands were shoved in his pockets, and he was desperate for something to cover his ears.

"This sucks immortal shit," Thalia continued, "I need warmth to live - I'm not built for this shitty-ass cold weather. Give me a sunburn any day over frostbite."

"For the love of - here, just take my coat." Luke shimmied out of his jacket and handed it to Thalia, hoping the blush on his cheeks could pass for his face just being cold.

Thalia looked up at him, shocked. "What? No! You'll freeze!" She shoved the coat back at him. He was resilient, and kept the coat by her. Finally, she gave in, grudgingly taking the clothing and pulling it on over her own. It began working immediately, her core temperature starting to rise slowly. She smiled at the boy beside her. "Thanks, Luke."

He shrugged. "No problem," He answered gruffly, "You needed it more than me. Now, will you please get in the sleeping bag and go to bed?"

"What about you?" She asked, her eyes displaying her concern. Luke just rolled his eyes.

"I'll take first watch, Sparky," He said with a grin. He knew how much she hated that dumb nickname.

"Whatever," She mumbled, and climbed into the sleeping bag. As she tried to fall asleep, she could hear his teeth chattering with the cold.

No more than ten minutes later, she felt someone sliding into the sleeping bag behind her.

"Luke? What the Hades are you doing?" She hissed, hiding her blush.

"I'm freezing my ass off, just...just give me a second, my Gods," He sighed, exasperated. He wiggled his way into the sleeping bag, and Thalia felt a blush creep up her cheeks at the sudden amount of bodily contact. "Body heat will help both of us, plus the added bonus."

"What added bonus?" Thalia asked.

"I can say that I've slept with Thalia Grace," Luke answered smartly.

Thalia kicked his shin, blushing furiously and trying to tell herself to stop getting so worked up over that one sentence.

"You wish, Castellan," She mumbled as he laid an arm over her waist. Luke gently kissed the top of her head, and tangled his feet with hers.

"Go to sleep, Sparky," He murmured into her hair.

"You're an ass, Luke," She replied with a soft sigh, leaning back into him, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the warmth emanating from it.

"Stop trying to out-sass me and sleep, okay?" Luke gently nuzzled her neck and Thalia relented, nodding slightly and closing her eyes, falling into the best sleep she'd had in a very long time.

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**A/N: Voilà! Some cuddles. Even Thalia needs cuddles every now and then. Hope you enjoyed!**

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**-breezered. **


	5. The Couple that Almost Was - AU Thaluke

"Oh, fuck!" Thalia Grace yelled as she spilled hot tea on her bare legs.

"It's too early to swear, babe," her boyfriend, Luke Castellan said from the table.

"Fuck off," Thalia said flippantly, "It's your fault since you somehow lost my pants last night."

Luke shrugged, "It isn't a big apartment. If you had actually bothered to look for them, you probably would have found them by now." He looked over at her from the paper he was reading. "Not that I necessarily want you to put pants on, however." Thalia rolled her eyes and used the hem of the shirt she was wearing (which barely reached down past her bum) to wipe the tea off her thighs.

"Stop staring at my ass, pervert," she scolded him. Luke smiled innocently.

"Can I help it that you've got a particularly nice ass?" he asked. Thalia laughed and went over to him. She ruffled his already messy blonde hair and kissed the top of his head.

"Well, I'll make a deal with you," she said, sliding onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. He slid his arms around her petite waist, holding her to his body.

"What kind of deal?" Luke asked, "Because if it involves sex I am so in."

Thalia tugged on his hair sharply. He winced.

"If you keep your shirt off, I'll keep my pants off," she bargained. Luke's eyes widened.

"I can do that," he said, nodding eagerly. "I can definitely do that." Thalia smiled and kissed his stubble-covered cheek. Luke grinned his usual, mischievous grin. "You do realize that this arrangement will make it very hard for me to resist just keeping you in my bedroom all day."

Thalia shrugged. "It's not like I can go anywhere without pants, Luke," she laughed, nuzzling his neck as his hands gently massaged her lower back.

"And you aren't making it any easier for me to resist," he muttered into her hair. She smiled against his skin, and kissed his collarbone.

"I can stop if you want," She teased. Luke rolled his eyes, and one of his hands travelled to the hem of her shirt. He slid his hand under and up her back, causing a shiver to run through her spine.

"Asshole," She grumbled. Then, with considerable grace and agility, she slid out of his grip and off his lap, strolling casually to the fridge.

"Don't you have anything other than beer and old takeout?" She asked, frustrated.

"Yeah, because I totally cook on a daily basis," Luke said sarcastically. "Thalia, I'm a twenty-five-year-old man who lives on his own. What do you think?"

Thalia sighed and closed the fridge. "I guess you're right." She checked the clock and ran a hand through her short, choppy hair. "I'm going to take a shower," she informed him, "Make me some breakfast."

"Uh, no," Luke answered, "I am not making you breakfast." Thalia groaned in frustration.

"You are an awful boyfriend," she complained, "You lose my pants, you won't make me breakfast - remind me why I'm dating you again?"

"You love me," Luke answered. He stood up from his chair, stretching his arms above his head. Thalia bit her bottom lip as she admired his chest muscles expand and contract.

"Mhmm, true," she mused, "Still not sure if that's gonna work for me, if you won't even make me breakfast after I pretty much gave you the best blo - "

"Okay, I get it, you want breakfast," Luke interrupted, blushing furiously, "And it was not the best."

"It so was," Thalia scoffed, "Tell me then. What was the best?" She stood a few feet away from him, her arms crossed across her chest, face determined and body language speaking for itself.

"Well, there was this girl back in second year who did this thing with her tongue..." Luke trailed off, loving how Thalia's eyes darkened, and she glared at him.

"That probably isn't even a true a story," she retorted, "Because I know you had barely ever had one before me."

"Oh really?" Luke asked, his eyebrows raised in defiance. "And how do you 'know' this?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You lasted about forty seconds during the first time, babe." Luke blushed, unable to contradict her.

"I was young and inexperienced," he tried to defend himself.

"Face it, Luke, I'm just really amazing in bed," Thalia said, "And it took you a while to catch up." She tossed her hair and smiled triumphantly at him.

"Fuck you," he pouted. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Such a baby," she teased, "I'm sorry, babe, really." She was holding in laughter, but she went over to him and kissed him softly, having to stand on her tip-toes to reach his lips. Even then, Luke had to bend over slightly. What Thalia lacked in height, she made up for in attitude, he always thought.

She pulled back. "You're very manly and sexy, and you give fantastic or-" Luke cut her off with his lips on hers, his hands resting on her waist. Thalia responded eagerly, pressing her body against his bare chest. Her hands slid over his shoulders, and she gently bit his bottom lip. He groaned, the vibrations resounding in his chest.

Reluctantly, Luke pulled back. "We just spent the better part of last night and early this morning doing this," he breathed heavily, "How are we even able to think of doing anything more?"

Thalia shrugged. "I am kind of really attracted to you and I love you and I'm planning on using sexual favors to convince you to take me out for breakfast and find my pants?" Luke laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Go shower," he said, rubbing his thumbs over her hip bones, "I'll go find your pants and join you in a few, then we'll go grab something. Deal?"

Thalia smiled and kissed him briefly. "I love you so much, really, I love you." Luke smiled and steered her in the direction of the shower.

"Go," he said, "You smell like you've been having sex for hours straight."

"Funny, that's kind of how I remember last night going," she mused. But she just winked at him and went into the bathroom. Before she shut the door, she pulled off the over-sized shirt she had on and threw it at him. He caught it and stuck his tongue out.

"Remember that I love you," Thalia said, and she closed the door.

As Luke went about the business of searching for his girlfriend's pants, he heard her off-key singing from the bathroom. He found the pants draped over the coffee table, along with last night's pair of boxers. He smiled and grabbed both, throwing them onto his bed on his way to join Thalia in the shower.

Forty-five minutes later, they were both dressed and showered. Thalia had her ripped, faded, black skinny jeans, her Doc Martens, and one of Luke's old football t-shirts. It had his name on it, which she had complained about for a good three minutes as being "chauvinistic, insulting to women everywhere, this like ownership."

She wore the shirt anyways.

Luke had pulled on some casual blue jeans, a white wife-beater under an unbuttoned red flannel shirt, and had been prudent and grabbed his leather jacket. As they walked down to the nearest café, Thalia had gotten a chill and put on his jacket. It was immense on her, but Luke thought she looked gorgeous in it (he may be a little bit biased though). They held hands as the strolled down the street, making fun of each other and bantering the whole way.

The café was warm and empty, so they grabbed a table by the window and Luke went up to order for them. Thalia sat in the plush red armchair, curled up in Luke's jacket and t-shirt, every breath filling her nostrils with his comforting scent of pine, his cologne, and that unnameable smell that had just always belonged to Luke.

He returned with a cranberry tea and scone with jam for Thalia, and a cappuccino and bagel BLT for himself.

"Thanks, babe," she said gratefully, "You're the best." She leaned across the table and kissed him swiftly.

"I know," Luke said with a grin, "I can feed you, I'm super attractive and sexy beyond belief, not to mention my skills in the bedroom leave nothing to be desired." He winked at her, and she rolled her eyes, biting into her scone.

"And you're modest too," She said through her mouthful of delicious baked good.

"Shut up and eat your scone, Thalia," he laughed. They continued their breakfast like this, exchanging remarks (that mostly centered around the other's skill in bed) and even having cappuccino foam blown in their faces (which they found inventive ways to remove every time). As they were leaving, Luke wrapped his arm around Thalia's waist, kissing the top of her head.

"I was thinking - " Luke began.

"Were you?" Thalia interrupted, "Wow, that's a really big step for you! Oh, babe, I'm so proud!" Luke squeezed her waist, causing her to shriek and wriggle.

"Shut up, Grace," he said, laughing, "I have something important to say." Thalia bit her bottom lip to quench her laughter, and nodded, telling him she would behave. "Okay, well I was thinking that, well, we've been dating for almost two years, and I am totally in love with you, Thalia. So I thought maybe, if you wanted, you could move in with me." It wasn't posed as a question - he already knew her answer. Instead, it was him giving her the "okay" to move the rest of her underwear to his dresser, to bring the rest of her wardrobe too. And her personal effects. She already spent four out of seven nights at his place.

"Is this all a ploy to get into my pants?" She asked jokingly.

Luke laughed, "I think I've already accomplished that, thanks very much."

Thalia pretended to think it over, her thumb looping itself through one of his belt-loops.

"Okay," She finally said, "I would absolutely be positively thrilled to move in with you, Luke Castellan. But I have one condition."

Luke swallowed, aware that his girlfriend could strike a tough bargain - he'd seen her at work at the thrift stores she loved so much.

"And that would be?" he asked.

"We're going grocery shopping right now."

Luke laughed and swept her up into a big hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt him spin them around. He set her down and placed a kiss on the end of her nose.

"Okay," he chuckled, "We'll go grocery shopping right now."

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**A/N: I'm back! I'm so sorry I haven't updated - but I have a good reason. I just got back yesterday from a three week touring of the UK. Lovely country, that. Anyways, I'm back, andim home for the rest of the summer with my new puppy, so expect somewhat more frequent updates on all of my stuff!**

**This was written for the PJO ship week for Thaluke, and also because this head canon of their AU selves just burst into my head. If you guys like it, I'll post more of the AU stuff - if you don't, I'll cry a bit then try and post canon.**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you're all having awesome summers!**

**Stay dazzling!**

**-breezered.**


	6. Home

Thalia Grace was sixteen years old when her washed-up, alcoholic, failed actress of a mother kicked her out. Thalia had stuffed her clothes into a duffel bag, grabbed three bottles of vodka, a box of granola bars, and her mother's credit card. She made it as far as the corner store at the end of her street before she realized she didn't know where to go.

So she sat down on the curb and munched morosely on a granola bar.

"Great planning, Thalia," she muttered to herself, "Way to go." She began a list of people who she knew well enough to ask for shelter.

Annabeth - her house was already full to the brim.

Percy - she loved her cousin, but no. His mom couldn't support another teenager.

Nico and Bianca - again, Thalia loved her cousins, all of them...but her aunt Maria would just insist that she try and make amends with her mother.

Grover - he was a vegetarian, like the rest of his family. There was no way Thalia could convert to that lifestyle.

Luke - he was already living on his own...actually...

It was a lightbulb moment. Thalia leapt up from the curb, slung her bag over her shoulder, and began the trek to Luke Castellan's apartment.

It took her almost an hour to reach his door. She rapped her knuckles against the wood and waited impatiently for him to open it. When he finally did, she pushed by him and tossed her stuff into his living room.

"What the fuck, Thalia?" Luke exclaimed, shutting his door. He yawned, wiping his eyes.

"My mom kicked me out," Thalia explained, "And I thought that, maybe, I could stay with you for a while?" She smiled hopefully at him. Luke looked at her, taken aback, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Uh, you want to stay here?" He clarified. Thalia nodded, biting her bottom lip. Luke sighed.

"I swear, I'm actually a really good housemate," she insisted, "I can clean, and I'll find a job and help pay for rent, and I can cook a mean lasagna!" She grabbed his hands and looked up at him. "Please, Luke."

Luke shook his head. "It isn't that I don't want to help, I do," he explained, "But I can't support you. I don't even have another bedroom for you to stay in. I live off of takeout and cheap beer, which is illegal anyways." Thalia shrugged.

"I'm cool with illegal," she said, "My mom is a heroine addict, I pretty much grew up with illegal!" Luke rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"No, Thalia," he said firmly, "You can't live with me. Call your dad. Go stay with him." He folded his arms across his chest and gave her a stern look.

"I hate my dad." Thalia replied smartly. "Besides, he wouldn't want me. He has Jason, the golden boy." Luke tried to ignore how sympathetic towards Thalia's situation he was. He looked at her set jaw, determined eyes, and firm stance - the perfect picture of stubbornness embodied in a pixie-sized sixteen-year-old.

"Okay," he sighed, "I give up. You have exactly one week to find somewhere else to stay." He scolded himself for being such a softie and went to sit on his couch. Thalia bounded after him and jumped on him, her thin arms wrapping around him and her face pressing into his neck.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed, kissing his cheek and beaming at him. Luke fought back the blood rushing to his cheeks.

"You have to sleep on the couch," he warned, doing his best to ignore how close their faces were, "And I mean it, Thals - one week. I want you to call your dad."

Thalia frowned and moved to sit beside him. As soon as they were no longer touching, the January chill seemed to rush right back into the room. "I told you, I hate my dad. He's a no-good, lying, cheating son of a bitch, and I want nothing to do with him."

"Thalia," Luke said, "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that you should never give up on family." He met her angry blue eyes with his earnest gaze, and watched the anger dissipate slowly.

"He's never been there for me," she mumbled, looking down at her pale hands. They twisted around each other in her lap, and Luke gently covered them with his much larger hand.

"You're going to have to let him."

Thalia looked up at Luke and took in his familiar face. Her partner-in-crime, her shelter, her best friend. He was the representation of all the good in Thalia's life.

"Can we talk about the sucky stuff later?" She asked, reaching in to her bag and bringing out a bottle of vodka. "I brought the party." Luke laughed and took the bottle from her. As he struggled with the cap, Thalia shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. With a small eye-roll, Luke grabbed a nearby blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She smiled at him and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a large yawn.

"We don't need alcohol tonight, Sparky," Luke said, calling her by her childhood nickname. "C'mon, let's go to bed." He got up and held out a hand to Thalia.

"I thought I was sleeping on the couch?" Thalia asked, her voice beginning to thicken with tiredness.

Like sighed, "You can't expect me to let a damsel in distress not sleep with a valiant knight by her side to ward off bad dreams, can you?" He winked at her, causing a stir of flurries in her stomach.

"You'll have to carry me, o valiant one," she laughed.

Luke reached down and gathered her into his arms, carrying her bridal-style into his bedroom. He set her down on the bed, and went to his dresser.

"D'you want some pyjamas?" He offered.

"Yeah," she answered through a yawn. Luke found an old, very large T-shirt with 'Your wallet is in my pocket' printed across the faded black material in dirty white. He chucked it over to the girl on his bed and changed himself into a pair of flannel plaid pyjama pants, discarding his shirt. He went back over to the bed to find Thalia already curled up under the duvet in his shirt, her breathing evening out.

"Good night, Thalia," he said as he slid under the covers. She turned to face him and smiled through her sleep haze.

"Good night, Luke," she answered, "Thanks." She shuffled over and turned, pressing her back against his chest, fitting her head beneath his chin. He let his arm drape over her waist and breathed in the smell of Thalia; a mixture of three things that had no specific name, but together combined to form a scent that smelled like maybe, just maybe, Luke had found a sort of heaven on earth.

"By the way, Castellan," Thalia muttered, "We are going grocery shopping tomorrow. You're bat shit crazy if you think I'm starting to live off takeout."

Luke laughed, and Thalia felt it rumble through his chest. "I assume you'll want a cheeseburger at some point?"

Thalia linked her fingers with his. "You know me too well." Luke laughed and smiled to himself as she nestled in next to him, and he closed his eyes.

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**A/N: Aw, these two. Sorry for the wait, I was very much a busy person. Hope you enjoyed this one, I know I did! **

**Reviews are puppies!**

**Stay wicked!**

**-breezered.**


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